One of the segments from last night's episode, while disturbing, is worth flagging at least briefly here, as its an issue we've touched on throughout the years, going back to the earliest years of the Iraq War. It's also one that has been under-covered and under-investigated by the mainstream corporate media.

The use of depleted uranium, a byproduct of the nuclear power industry, in U.S. weaponry is believed by many to be tied to an alarming increase in birth-defects in Iraqi children, as well as cancer rates in members of the U.S. military. While some studies report no significant health risks due to the use of such weaponry, a lack of long-term studies leaves the issue, for now, an open question --- at the very least. Truthout's Mike Ludwig reported this week that "The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has estimated that 1,000 to 2,000 metric tons of depleted uranium was fired during the 2003 war in Iraq," and that clean-up costs for some 300 to 365 sites where "depleted uranium contamination was identified by Iraqi authorities" is estimated to cost tens of millions of dollars.

While the U.S. and British governments "disputed allegations that their weapons have poisoned soldiers and civilians and caused increased rates of cancer and birth defects," as discussed in the segment below from last night's TYT show, the reported rate of birth defects in Fallujah, for example, is now said to be 14 times higher than it was in Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the U.S. dropped atomic bombs there.

The use of depleted uranium in U.S. weapons is believed by some to be one of the reasons for that alarming statistic, as Desi discussed along with TYT regulars Ana Kasparian and Steve Oh last night. [WARNING: Some of the photos shown in the segment are graphic and disturbing]...

A couple of the other (less graphic) segments from TYT in which the lovely Desi helps with righteous rants and the raking of various muck include...

• Amazing backlog of Veteran Benefits begs question as to who actually "supports the troops"? (A particularly sharp, and personal, Desi rant in this one!) Watch it here...

• "Catfight" breaks out between current and former GOP chairs Reince Priebus and Michael Steele. Watch it here...

From a Nov 2005 report by the Monitoring Network for Human Rights (MHRI):
"2. Internationally prohibited weapons were used in the bombing of the city, such as phosphoric weapons, Napalm, bombs containing unknown gases, causing the blood to explode out of bodies. 24 carbonized bodies have been found in the area of the military neighbourhood. Surviving civilian eyewitnesses stated that the soldiers of the occupation forces entered the area wearing gas masks. Furthermore, cases of DEFPRMED NEWLY BORN increased as a consequence of the use of such weapons. In a press conference, which took place during the battle, Mr. Khaled Al-Sheikhali, official of the Ministry of Health, confirmed the use of such weapons."

Where is 99 when you need her? An how bout that poop (the pope) retiring? The church is on the verge of doing jus as much bad than it ever had done as an over all civilizing force because the motives stink. Oh america, watch out the mighty ignorant will fall. Just don't try to continue to take down centuries, while you fall!

I like to think I'm willing to go anywhere and see anything. I was checking out Tomas Young's story on "Democracy Now" via "BradBlog, and so proud of him for making his sacrifices visible for us.

It's hard to watch such a brave and beautiful young man age so fast.

His bravery extended beyond the battlefield and I'm sure he knew about the risks of bringing the story home. I hope a doctor somewhere will understand how to help him and the others who suffered from war to stay with and educate us...

John McCain, exclusive!

While at "Democracy Now", I saw the story and the picture about depleted uranium.

I'm not a guy who slows down or even turns to look at car accidents because I think the last thing a dying person needs to see is a gawking fool. However, I felt I needed to see what my country has done to others.

When I saw a child born with one eye in the middle of his forehead, (a real life cyclops), I gasped.

That's enough horror for now. I got the message alright, but It's something that needs to be seen.

How can a country who pioneered in space exploration and work with our former, (Soviet), enemies to advance those goals be reduced to this kind of cowardice.

I'm not trying to be heavy here, but I think we all have common goals.

Huh? Care to explain that weird comment regarding Assad? Right now I'm seeing a gratuitous and factually unsupported opinion and not seeing anything factual or related to depleted uranium. Comparing Assad to the illegal Iraq invaders is like comparing apples to hammers.

Re #15: You've clearly fallen for the MSM BS that contains far more lies than truth about Assad, who still has the support of most Syrians. You also fail to recognize that many of those things you've attributed to Assad are "false flags" designed to smear his administration. The alleged "chemical attacks" have been been staged by the rebels. Numerous propaganda photos have been staged by the rebels (notice how the same outdated Russian "clusterbombs" are trotted out for repeated photo ops). Your hospital story is about as real and reputable as the ones about babies being ripped from incubators in Iraq, which is to say not true at all.

Finally, you seem to have forgotten how the same type of propaganda you recycle was used to lie our way into invading Iraq. This is the exact same template being used now. Remarkable you can't see the obvious parallels. How sad we are still a nation that cannot learn the lessons of history.

Since the rest of your claims are equally suspect, I can only conclude you're another clever disinfo specialist trying to manipulate public opinion for the PTB.

Just to clarify my last post, which ends differently than it begins, I began by giving Mr. Mainway the benefit of the doubt as to his gullibility on the issue of Syria. As I went through his list, though, it appears to be neocon talking points and propaganda, which is odd given other posts of his I've reviewed. This being the case, my last sentence should have read:

"However since the rest of your claims are equally suspect, I can only conclude you're another clever disinfo specialist trying to manipulate public opinion for the PTB."

"The widows’ basement reflects the ordeal of 28,000 men, women and children clinging to existence in Baba Amr, a district of low concrete-block homes surrounded
on all sides by Syrian forces. The army is launching Katyusha rockets, mortar shells
and tank rounds at random.
Snipers on the rooftops of al-Ba’ath University and other high buildings surrounding Baba Amr shoot any civilian who comes into their sights. Residents were felled indroves in the first days of the siege

On the lips of everyone was the question: “Why have we been abandoned by the world?"

Ban Ki-moon, the secretary-general of the United Nations, said last week: “We see
neighbourhoods shelled indiscriminately, hospitals used as torture centres, children as
young as 10 years old killed and abused. We see almost certainly crimes against humanity."

Ahmed, 16, her sister’s eldest child, was killed by a missile when he went to try to find bread.
“The kids are screaming (in terror) all the time," Hamida said. “I feel so helpless." She began weeping. “We feel so abandoned. They’ve given Bashar al-Assad the green light to
kill us."

Akhmed Mohammed, a military doctor who defected from Assad’s army, shouted:
“Where are the human rights? Do we have none? Where are the United Nations?"
There were only two beds in the clinic for convalescing. One was taken by Akhmed Khaled, who had been injured, he said, when a shell hit a mosque as he was about to leave prayers. His right testicle had had to be removed with only paracetamol to dull the pain.
He denounced the Assad regime’s claim that the rebels were Islamic extremists and said: “We ask all people who believe in God — Christians, Jews, Muslims to help us!""

This is what Assad's goons did to a 13 year old rounded up at a 2011 protest:

"According to Seymour Hersh's 2007 article, "The Redirection: Is the Administration's new policy benefiting our enemies in the war on terrorism?," Saudi Arabia, a more credible candidate for openly interfacing with the militants, openly admitted that it was a danger, but that they "created it," and therefore could "control it," in meetings with Washington. The plan called for not only setting up terrorist enclaves in nations neighboring Syria, including Lebanon, Jordan, and US-occupied Iraq, but also for building up the Muslim Brotherhood, both inside Syria's borders and beyond - including in Egypt."

That's just a taste; there's a whole lot more there that offers the nuance and perspective your claims lack.